Recruiting a child for criminal activity in NSW.

The offence.

Section 351A of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) makes it an offence to recruit another person to carry out or assist in criminal activity. The offence carries a higher maximum where the person recruited is a child. The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Organised and Gang-related Crime Reforms) Act 2026, which passed NSW Parliament in June, targeted the recruitment of children as one of its central concerns, alongside public shootings, firebombings and vehicles used and then torched to destroy evidence.

The reason the law singles out children is plain. A person who draws a child into crime exploits the child's youth, and often the child's poverty or vulnerability. The law treats that as a serious wrong in its own right, separate from whatever the child is recruited to do.

What counts as recruiting?

Recruiting is defined broadly. It covers counselling, procuring, soliciting, inciting or inducing a person to carry out or assist criminal activity. It does not require a formal arrangement. A message, an offer of money, or pressure applied to a young person can be enough. The conduct can happen face to face or online, and it can be aimed at a particular crime or at criminal activity in general.

Because the definition is wide, the defence work focuses on what was actually said and done, and on intention. The Crown must prove that the accused set out to recruit, not merely that they knew a young person who later offended.

Does the child have to commit a crime?

No. The offence is complete on the recruiting. The Crown does not have to prove that the child went on to carry out the criminal activity. Like conspiracy and attempt, this is an offence that reaches conduct at an early stage, before harm is done. That is deliberate. The aim is to stop the pipeline that draws children into organised crime before a child ends up hurt or before a serious offence is committed.

Where the recruited child stands.

A child who is recruited and then commits an offence can still be charged with that offence. The recruitment offence does not give the child a defence. But the fact that a child was recruited, and their age and immaturity, are all relevant to how the matter is dealt with and to sentence. Rehabilitation weighs heavily when a court sentences a young person. Where the young person has been used by others, that context matters. Our note on when a child is tried as an adult explains how the more serious matters move to the higher courts.

If you are under investigation.

A recruitment charge often rests on communications: messages, calls, and the accounts of others. Those accounts can be unreliable, and the meaning of a message can be contested. If police want to speak to you about recruiting anyone, or about your contact with a young person now facing charges, do not take part in an interview before you have advice. For the wider setting, see our note on participating in a criminal group and consorting.

How these cases are proved.

A recruitment case is built on communications and on the accounts of others, often including the young person said to have been recruited. That evidence needs careful testing. Messages can be ambiguous. A young person facing their own charges may have a reason to shift blame onto an older person. The Crown must prove that the accused intended to recruit, and that what they did amounted to recruiting, not merely knowing or associating with a young person who went on to offend.

Intention is the pivot. Ordinary contact between an adult and a young relative or neighbour is not recruiting. Offering money for a specific criminal task, or pressuring a child into it, is. The defence looks closely at what was actually said and done, at the sequence of events, and at whether the alleged recruiter had anything to do with the offence the child later committed.

Why the law targets the adult.

The policy behind the offence is to reach the people who use children as a shield. An organiser who never touches a weapon, but who sends a child to do the dangerous work, is the real target. That is also why the penalty is higher when the person recruited is a child. The law treats the exploitation of a child's youth as an aggravating feature in its own right, separate from the crime the child is asked to commit. For how the most serious matters involving children are dealt with, see our note on when a child is tried as an adult.

Frequently asked.

What is the offence of recruiting for criminal activity in NSW?

Section 351A of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) makes it an offence to recruit a person to carry out or assist criminal activity. It carries a higher maximum where the person recruited is under 18.

Does the child have to actually commit a crime?

No. The offence targets the recruiting. The Crown does not have to prove the recruited person went on to commit the criminal activity.

What counts as recruiting?

Counselling, procuring, soliciting, inciting or inducing a person to carry out or assist criminal activity. It can be done in person or online, aimed at a specific crime or at criminal activity generally.

Can a young person themselves be charged?

The recruitment offence targets the recruiter. A recruited child who commits an offence can still be charged with it, although their age, immaturity and having been recruited are relevant to how the matter is dealt with and to sentence.

To speak to a criminal defence lawyer, call Aaron Kernaghan on 0421 717 019.

This article is written by Aaron Kernaghan, criminal defence lawyer at Brady & Associates Lawyers, as at 10 September 2026. It is commentary and reflects the personal opinion of the author only. It is not legal advice, it is not a substitute for advice on your own matter, and it does not purport to be accurate or complete. Any matter referred to may be before the court and any person charged is presumed innocent. For advice on a specific matter, contact Aaron Kernaghan on 0421 717 019 or contact the firm.

More criminal-law commentary by Aaron Kernaghan.

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